Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze is the game Retro Studios has been making instead of Metroid Prime 4 out of a crippling fear of success. But, don't worry, readers, this is in the only time in this review I'll whine about Tropical Freeze not being Metroid Prime 4, I promise. Not that I have much reason to complain anyway, as Tropical Freeze is a really good game.

I don't care if it spoils the rest of my review. Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze is awesome!

You may recall that I once called this game's predecessor, Donkey Kong Country Returns, "one of the best 2D platformers on the Wii". Tropical Freeze continues this level of quality onto Nintendo's next gen console. This time, DK Island is under siege from northern vikings called the Snowmads, a motley crew of penguins, walruses, seals, owls, and the large, shadowy figure that commands them with the power of a horn capable of summoning chilling arctic winds when blown. Donkey Kong and his companions are blown away by the initial attack and sent flying across several treacherous islands. Now, they have to work their way back to reclaim their turf from the Snowmads.

Gameplay-wise, Tropical Freeze largely carries on from the style set by other DKC games. It's a 2D sidescroller where you jump around, toss barrels, and roll into enemies. Of course, every level has a few secrets hidden within them, just waiting to be found. The game has fewer worlds than the previous one, six to Returns's eight. To be fair, the game makes up for this deficiency by adding in more secret levels than the original had, that can only be accessed by finding hidden exits within certain levels.

It's basically more of the same with no noteworthy additions or improvements. That's not a bad thing, though, when you consider what a great series Tropical Freeze hails from. The gameplay is still a solid challenge, the levels are colorful and inventive, and the music is very well composed, thanks to series veteran, David Wise. It expands the series, without revolutionizing it and if you're looking for something to play, it delivers on a fun, content-filled promise.

That's not to say it's entirely without any improvements. Most notably, the graphics look much nicer thanks to the Wii U's increased horsepower. 1080p resolution is nice, and the game runs at 60 fps with no slowdown. However, it does suffer a bit from long loading times, which, thankfully, don't occur very often.

Tropical Freeze looks really nice.

The Super Kong from the previous game has been removed. While I never had much of a problem with it, along with Super Guides in general, I understand why its presence might have annoyed some people. Regardless, I think Retro's new approach to player aid is preferable. As Cranky is now a playable character, the in-game shop is handled by Funky Kong and it has a much wider selection for purchase. These range from extra hearts, a crash guard for vehicles, and a balloon that can carry you to safety should you fall into a pit. It allows players to complete levels on their own volition as opposed to having the game beat it for them.

There are also a couple more Kongs that join DK and Diddy on their quest: Cranky and Dixie. Each has there unique ability to help their patriarch along. Dixie can whirl her ponytail around like helicopter blade to give DK more height to his jump.

Dixie's back, and she's quite useful.

Cranky takes a page from the DuckTales playbook and bounces around on his cane. Out of the three, I'd say Cranky is the most fun to play with. Bouncing off enemy heads with a well-timed downward stab is as fun as it was with Scrooge McDuck. But each of the secondary Kongs have their use, and, as with other Donkey Kong Country games, a second player can control them. A glaring omission is that you can't switch between characters on the fly when in multiplayer, meaning you have to drop out and then drop in as the preferred character, a roundabout process that could have easily been worked around.

Unfortunately, a few of my complaints from Returns persist into the sequel. First and foremost, the buttons still aren't allocated well. The ground pound and roll functions are still mapped to the same button, or the motion control if you're playing with the Wiimote. So, there'll still be a few frustrating deaths caused by rolling when you meant to ground pound or vice versa. The blowing action has been removed and good riddance to it. Grabbing is still an issue in multiplayer, though. It's still much too easy to grab onto your partner when you least want to. With this game being on the Wii U and the Wii U's main controllers having all the buttons of a typical controller, you'd think Nintendo would allocate their buttons a bit better, but I guess not.

And then rocket barrel levels are back and as frustratingly agonizing as ever. Why, oh why, did you bring back the rocket barrel levels, Retro? No one liked the rocket barrel levels. If you did, you're probably a masochist. At least they can take two hits now, as opposed to one, but that's like saying "Well, at least the scorpions I've stuck down my underpants aren't poisonous anymore." A small comfort.

Misery...

But those are all minor complaints in an otherwise well-made game. Your enjoyment of Tropical Freeze will hinge mostly on how much you've enjoyed previous Donkey Kong games. If you love DKC's unique feel and challenging platforming, then Tropical Freeze is sure to please.

Excellent work, Retro Studios, even if this wasn't the Donkey Kong game I wanted. The Donkey Kong game I wanted is set in space. And DK is human, female, and a bounty hunter. And he wears high-tech battle armor as opposed to a tie. And flies about in a spaceship instead of getting shot out of barrels. And it's a 3D first-person shooter. See? I held out for most of the review!